Half Moon
by Willow Battlegale
Summary: Another reincarnation of an ancient cat was born shortly after Tawnypelt's kits. Now the ShadowClan she-cat is the medicine cat, but Littlecloud's death forces Jayfeather to mentor her. K  for cat violence and Warriors-style cussing.
1. Chapter 1: A New Apprentice

**Quick explanation: Halffur became warrior and then when Flametail died, Littlecloud had a dream from StarClan saying she would be the next medicine cat. Then Littlecloud died.**

"Blackstar!" Tawnypelt yowled. "The kits are coming!"

"Now?" Blackstar asked.

Tawnypelt rolled her eyes. "Yes, now. I can't order them to stop, can I?"

It was just like Ivytail to have her kits when the medicine cats were at Moonpool. Tawnypelt nudged the she-cats swollen belly with her nose and realized the first kit was almost out. A wet, dark shape fell to the moss in the nursery and laid eerily still.

"Lick!" Tawnypelt ordered, nudging the kit to Dawnkit, who began licking it clean.

A second kit wriggled feebly, blindly scrabbling towards its mother's belly. Tawnypelt lowered her muzzle and quickly cleaned the kit off.

Dawnkit stopped licking and looked up. "She won't wake up." She fretted.

Tawnypelt turned her attention to her daughter and the kit, beginning to rub the newborn kit. Tigerkit helped her.

"Has Rowanclaw returned with Littlecloud yet?" Tawnypelt called urgently.

"No sign of them!" Blackstar replied, pacing back and forth.

Tawnypelt wished she hadn't been the one told to help the leader's mate while she gave birth. Just because her brother's son was a medicine cat didn't mean she knew what to do.

"Tawnypelt, she still won't wake!" Flamekit mewed, sniffing the newborn.

She looked down at the still kit and sighed. "Dead."

"Dead?" Tigerkit asked, eyes round. "StarClan lets kits die?"

"StarClan doesn't have power over life and death. Cats die. If you're alive, you're one of the lucky ones." Tawnypelt said shortly, examining the queen and her kit again.

Dawnkit's jaws fell open in a soundless mewl of surprise. Tawnypelt regretted her sharpness. "I'm sorry, but I need you to be like warriors and sit vigil."

Tigerkit started to reply, but realized his mistake and closed his mouth, nodding.

"Another one's coming." Ivytail hissed.

Sure enough, a moment later a tiny kit came out, mewling loudly and powerfully despite her size.

"Is that a good sound?" Blackstar demanded, thrusting his muzzle into the nursery. He caught sight of the three older kits standing vigil around the body of his stillborn daughter. "No!"

Tawnypelt lifted her head from the third kit. "There was nothing I could do. She was born dead. But your son and your second daughter are alive."

"Are you going to name them?" Dawnkit squeaked. "Can we play with them?"

"I'll name them." Blackstar said firmly.

Tawnypelt ushered her kits away from Ivytail. "You can't play with them until they get bigger." She told them, ignoring squeals of protest as she nosed them into their nest and licked their ears. After a moment, their arguments turned to sleepy murmuring.

"This one is Nightkit." Blackstar said, standing over the dead kit. "The tom is Darkkit and the she-cat is Halfkit."

Darkkit had smoky black fur and Halfkit was equal parts black and white.

"Like the half-moon she was born under." Littlecloud said, padding inside and dropping a bundle of roots wrapped in a large leaf. "A good choice, Blackstar. Ivytail, this is borage. You need to eat it so your kits will have enough milk." He added to the queen. As soon as she ate it, he vanished through the nursery entrance.

Tawnypelt couldn't bear to be in there with the grieving family any longer. "I'll get you a toad to wash it down with." She said hastily, hurrying outside.

"How'd it go?" Rowanclaw asked worriedly.

"Ivytail and two of the kits are fine. The first one died. I tried, but she wouldn't wake. I did everything, and my best still wasn't good enough."

He flicked his tail tip over her shoulder before pressing against her reassuringly. "I'm sure you did everything anyone could. You're no medicine cat, you're a warrior. No one could expect any more than that."

.

* * *

><p>.<p>

Halffur glared up at her new mentor. "I hate you already. You've got an extraordinary knack for being an annoying, beetle-brained furball."

Jayfeather looked back at her coolly. Well, he seemed to. She knew perfectly well that blue gaze did little to the effect of actually seeing her.

"This is going to be quite the ceremony." Firestar muttered under his breath. "After you, Blackstar."

Blackstar shot the ThunderClan cat a withering glance I had yet to perfect and jumped smoothly onto the Highledge. "Cats of ShadowClan and ThunderClan! Gather here beneath this… _rock_ to hear what I have to say." He said scathingly, making rock sound like the worst kind of word for the thing he was standing on.

Angry muttering broke out among the ThunderClan half of the clearing, while ShadowClan cats twitched their whiskers.

Firestar bounded up beside him, treating him with an angry gaze. _Hmm, an angry glare versus being openly humiliated by a rival standing and addressing your clan in your own camp… _Halffur thought with amusement. _My father definitely looks to be the winner here._

"Littlecloud joined StarClan last night." Firestar explained. ShadowClan—and a few ThunderClan cats—bowed their heads for the moment.

"What does this have to do with us?" A ThunderClan cat yowled. "Why are they in our camp?"

It was a young cream warrior glaring up at Blackstar. Halffur's claws sunk into the earth.

Jayfeather cuffed her ear with sheathed claws. "If you rip his throat out I'll have to kill you, find another ShadowClan apprentice, and still patch him up so he can continue being a nuisance."

"Thornclaw, I'll see you in my den later." Firestar hissed.

Blackstar lashed his tail. "Littlecloud's apprentice died a few moons ago. We have no medicine cat. Jayfeather is the nearest medicine cat without an apprentice. He'll train a ShadowClan apprentice in lieu of Littlecloud. This apprentice will live with you for the next several moons." He was interrupted by a storm of muttering from both Clans.

"I don't want some ShadowClan spy wandering around, stealing kits and prey and poisoning herbs and the freshkill pile." An elder grumbled.

Firestar glared at her. "Mousefur, hold your tongue."

"Halffur, come up here." Blackstar said.

"I thought he said apprentice! Isn't she a warrior?" A kit said.

Halffur's whiskers twitched. Kits were the same in every Clan. She padded up to her father and sat beside him.

"Jayfeather," Firestar said as the blind tom climbed onto the rock.

She noticed a few scars on Jayfeather's pelt and for the first time it occurred to Halffur that though he couldn't be more than a leafbare or two older than her, he'd been through a lot.

"Halffur, is it your wish to become the ShadowClan medicine cat?" Blackstar asked.

"It is."

Firestar addressed Jayfeather. "Jayfeather, do you wish to take on this apprentice?"

"I do."

"Then I name you Halfpaw _once again_." Blackstar said bitterly. "May StarClan guide your paws as you become a medicine cat without the comfort of a ShadowClan mentor."

Halfpaw shuddered and touched noses with Jayfeather awkwardly.

The cats below were silent. Blackstar leapt down and waved his tail. The ShadowClan cats, who only included Ivytail, Darkwood, Rowanclaw, Tawnypelt, Tigerheart, and Dawnpelt, vanished through the entrance tunnel while Halfpaw walked to the back of the camp.

A cream-coloured, long-furred tom shouldered her as she walked past. "Whoops, sorry, Half_paw_."

Halfpaw had worked super hard to get her warrior name after being ill for a moon the last leaf-fall, and now Jayfeather had refused to take her unless she gave it up again.

"Don't mind Berrynose." A young she-cat told her. She blinked her blue eyes encouragingly. "I'm Dovewing. Jayfeather's brother was my mentor. He's always grumpy, you'll get used to it soon."

Halfpaw wasn't ready to be nice. "I'm not surprised he's grumpy. Who would want to be a HalfClan cat _and_ have to stay with _Thunder_Clan?" She asked loudly.

The kit who'd spoken before, a little gray ball of fur, bounced up to her. "Do you really eat kits for breakfast in ShadowClan?"

As much as she hated everyone in that camp and their awful scent, Halfpaw couldn't help being amused. "If we do, you're in big trouble, aren't you?" She hissed, baring her teeth.

His eyes got wide and he scrambled backwards. A silver she-cat whispered with him, and then they slowly approached her again, his sister in the lead.

Halfpaw pretended not to notice them. The tom pounced on her tail, sinking tiny claws into it. Though the claws were so small they itched rather than hurt, she yowled and keeled over. His sister climbed up onto her and bared her teeth.

"Get off of her, she's a guest." A queen said briskly. "I'm sorry, Halfpaw. They've been cooped up in the nursery while the snow melted."

"It's fine." She replied, climbing to her feet as the kits sulked.

The queen looked fondly down at her offspring. "I can't wait till they're apprenticed."

"They won't be as cute then." Halfpaw realized she sounded like a doting big sister. "They'll pick up ThunderClan scent and start reeking." She added disparagingly.

"Stop harassing Millie; we've got work to do." Jayfeather snapped.

"Bye, Halfpaw!" The kits called, already climbing over their mother.


	2. Chapter 2: Training

"This is nettle. We eat it to counteract poison." Jayfeather said condescendingly, as slowly as if he were explaining something to a kit. He hoped some of what he was saying would make it through his new apprentice's thick skull.

"The sky is blue." Halfpaw replied in the exact same tone. "Birds fly in it."

He could feel frustration radiating from her like waves of heat from the sun. Memories of Leafpool trying to teach him manners flooded his mind. Was this how she'd felt?

There was no way to know. She'd lied to him and now she avoided him.

Jayfeather lashed his tail and stalked off towards the lake. "This way."

"Wait!"

But he disregarded her and sped up. Suddenly, he felt the ground curb away and scrabbled for a paw hold. The sand kept sliding, and he felt himself falling. Then strong teeth fastened in the scruff of his neck and hauled him upright.

"You stupid furball, watch where you're going!"

His pelt burning with humiliation at being saved by his ShadowClan apprentice, and sand rubbing against his skin, he whirled on his apprentice. "I can't! In case you didn't notice, I'm _blind_. I don't need your help and I don't need special treatment from anyone, let alone my own apprentice."

"You frog-brained jerk, I didn't help you because you're blind. Warriors help each other, no matter what. Believe it or not, nobody cares if you're blind. Your problems aren't the centre of the world's focus!"

Taken aback by her venomous exasperation, he took a half pace backwards.

Her anger dissipated and she sniffed his flank. "You're bleeding. You've got serious skills. You're annoying _and_ you get hurt really easily. I have a feeling you'll be the death of me." Her tongue rasped against his fur and he flattened his hackles cautiously.

Halfpaw's predecessor Flametail had died when Jayfeather couldn't save him. Maybe she was right that he'd end up killing her one way or another.

"No more playing in sand. I swear I'll never get the taste of ThunderClan off my tongue. Let's hunt, okay?"

"I… I can't hunt."

"Oh, yeah. Well, hunt for herbs while I find a nice bird. I've seen what you ThunderClans call prey, furry little scraps. Might as well eat good prey while I can."

Shaking his head, Jayfeather returned to sniffing his way down the slope to the place where watermint grew.

x-x-x-x

Halfpaw spat. "ThunderClan scent and tick taste? Next you'll have me swallowing travelling herbs."

Jayfeather's whiskers twitched and she fought the urge to claw them off his muzzle. Three days trapped in camp, listening to boring ThunderClan elders' tales that seemed pointed at her. They all starred ShadowClan villains.

"Here's some more moss." He said, rolling a small moss ball towards her.

The silver kit, named Willowkit, barrelled into it at the last moment. Scraps of moss went flying.

"Why is my bedding still wet?" Mousefur yowled. "Halfpaw!"

The new medicine cat apprentice went along, shaking the dirt off the moss and trying to gather into one bundle again. She muttered under her breath about ThunderClan cats in general.

Her mentor prodded her with one paw. "You should serve elders with a good attitude."

"Jayfeather!" Someone scolded.

Halfpaw recognized the voice of Brightheart, a one-eyed warrior. She was the only person who criticised Jayfeather and rebuked him for rudeness every once in a while.

"You'll work her to death. You always hated this chore, so don't go around acting like you were the perfect apprentice."

Feeling a little better, Halfpaw carried the moss into the elder's den and started clawing up Mousefur's old nest.

"Did you hear Blackstar took on a mate half his age?" Mousefur asked Purdy pointedly.

Halfpaw barely managed to keep her fur from bristling.

"Ah, that's nothing new." Purdy said. "That young cat Dustpelt mentored his mate's littermate. Why, I remember this one cat who—"

A purr rose in the ShadowClan cat's throat. Not only had Purdy come to her rescue, there was no stopping him now. Mousefur would have to wait for him to take a nap before she could harass Halfpaw again.

After looking around to ensure the elders' nests were made and their pelts tick-free, she walked out into the hollow and stretched.

She felt confined in the small space, like the walls of stone would close in at any moment.

"Tell Jayfeather I went to find more tansy." She told Berrynose, who was helping Millie and Daisy in the nursery as a punishment for being rude to her.

Berrynose grumbled something under his breath before the kits distracted him by announcing he was an intruding ShadowClan warrior.

"No, I need that tail!" He was saying as she left. "Don't—argh!"

_He didn't have much of a tail for the kits to attack anyway._ With a _mrrow _of laughter at the thought, she plunged into the thinner part of the forest.

The scuffling of newly thawed brown leaves being scraped back alerted her to the presence of prey. A blackbird was tugging on a worm at the base of an oak tree.

Her paws ghosted over the dim forest floor as she used roots to avoid the crunchy leaves. She'd seen ThunderClan cats hunt and knew they could catch so much more if they were smart enough to avoid the noisy ground.

She ran out of roots to stand on, but it didn't matter. Halfpaw sprung, her claws sinking into the black-feathered wing as the bird took off. The worm fell to the ground. Crows and other animals would eat it and grow just a bit plumper for her Clan to consume.

Halfpaw froze. Since when had ThunderClan started being _her_ Clan? Three days and she was forgetting her loyalties already! The she-cat shook herself and headed back to camp with the prey.


	3. Chapter 3: Nicknames

"Guess where we're going." Jayfeather said, looming over his apprentice.

She looked up from sorting herbs and glared up into his sightless eyes. "Hmm, let's think: it's the half moon and we're medicine cats. Surely it can't be Moonpool!"

"Actually, it is Moonpool. And it's very far away. So do you know what we have to eat before we go?"

Halfpaw had a feeling the answer to that question wasn't "frogs". She also got the vibe that a flippant response was not the best way to answer him. In fact, she was remembering a certain flippant comment she'd made while removing ticks from the ThunderClan elders, a flippant comment that Jayfeather hadn't forgotten.

"Uh-oh…"

Travelling herbs.

X-x-X-x-X

"So, Jayfeather. Can I call you Jay?"

"No." He growled.

"Righto, Jay-Jay. So, you're not one of those 'forgive and forget' kind of cats, are you?"

"What was your first clue?"

Halfpaw fell over and pretended to be hurt. "I'm wounded by your sarcasm, JJ, wounded."

"Get to the point. I don't want you jabbering in my ear all night."

She sprung to her feet and bounded after him.

"What'd Leafpool do that made you hate her guts?"

"She lied."

"Lied?" Halfpaw said, pausing to take that one in. "Poor JJ, didn't you ever stop listening to the elders? Every cat lies."

"My sister didn't."

"Really? Not one teensy little lie? She never kept secrets?"

"Never." Jayfeather half-lied.

"And she's never done anything wrong?"

He lashed his tail once or twice and otherwise ignored her.

"I'm just saying, all cats make mistakes and maybe you should give her a chance."

"Hmph."

"How about this? So that we don't have problems like you and your moth—mentor, I'll try hard as I can to always be honest, and you try hard as you can to forgive me when I do screw up."

Jayfeather didn't respond.

"Come on, JJ, how about it?"

"Alright, Paw-paw."

"If we weren't so close to the other medicine cats, I'd attack you for that. I _was_ trained to be a warrior, after all."

"So was I."

"I was trained longer."

"Well, I'm bigger."

"But you're blind."

"I can hear better than you ever could."

"Ahem." Kestrelflight meowed politely.

Both of them jumped at the voice. They hadn't heard or seen, on Halfpaw's part, the medicine cat approaching.

"I hate to interrupt such an amusing discussion, but I figured you two might want to stop before the RiverClan cats get here."

"Yeah." Halfpaw said, licking her chest fur in embarrassment. "Thanks, Kestrelflight."

"You're welcome. It's great that you're a medicine cat now—did you choose to become one, or did StarClan send Littlecloud a sign?"

"I always wanted to be a medicine cat, but Flametail was so much better at it and Littlecloud couldn't really have two apprentices, so I had to settle for becoming the best warrior I could."

Two she-cats came racing along the shore towards them. The younger stopped gracefully, but her mentor skidded, spraying sand everywhere.

Mothwing jumped back onto her feet. "Oops."

"Hello," Willowmist said, tilting her head to one side. "It's Halffur, right?"

"I'm Halfpaw now, yet again. Jayfeather refused to mentor me unless I returned to apprenticeship in all sense of the word."

Jayfeather forestalled any sympathetic replies. "But she prefers to be called Paw-paw."

"Paw-paw?" Mothwing said doubtfully.

"Yep. All the ThunderClan cats are doing that these days. He's JJ."

The other three medicine cats exchanged mystified looks as Halfpaw trotted off towards the Moonpool.

"Did she say JJ?" Kestrelflight whispered in Willowmist's ear.

"I think so…"


	4. Chapter 4: StarClan

Halfpaw lapped at the ice cold water. _Mm, that's cold… And it doesn't reek of ThunderClan, unlike the stream in their territory._

When she opened her eyes, she was in a pine forest. Starlight filtered down through the trees.

"Hello?"

No one answered, so she padded across pine needles, weaving through the trunks. It was quiet here, perhaps too quiet. The further she walked, the darker it got, and soon she could hardly see her paws.

"Halffur." A quiet voice said.

She nearly jumped out of her fur as she spun around and saw a huge tabby tom sitting in a patch of light. His amber eyes were gleaming as if they gave off a light of their own.

Halfpaw backed away slowly, flattening her ears to her head. "Who are you?"

"Someone who's a lot like you."

"Really?" She asked cheekily, her rapier wit already returning. "So you're a she-cat too?"

There was a pause in which his eyes narrowed and she found herself wondering if StarClan cats could kill. Then a purr of amusement rose in his throat, though Halfpaw was pretty sure it was forced.

"I was originally ThunderClan, but they cast me out. I didn't want to abandon the life of a warrior, so I went to ShadowClan. They welcomed me as their leader. I'm sure you've heard my name, it's—"

She was now somewhat of an expert on any battles fought between ThunderClan and ShadowClan. Mousefur had ensured that. "It's Tigerstar, of course." She meowed.

"I can tell you don't trust me." He said. "That troubles me greatly—we could be of great use to each other, you and I."

"How could you be of use to me? You're dead—in case you haven't noticed."

"I could train you."

"I've got a mentor. I've had two, actually."

He snorted, unimpressed. "They were weak. I learned much more about fighting in my life span than the two of them combined."

"Well, duh, one's a blind medicine cat. And I don't want to fight with claws and teeth. My area of expertise is now herbs and words."

She turned around and started to walk away, but he leapt forward and stood in her way.

"Look, Tigerstar, it's a pleasure to meet you. Okay, so it isn't, but we can pretend otherwise. I don't want to learn to fight, most certainly not from you. And I may be a medicine cat and I may have no idea whether or not I can kill dead cats, but unless you _get out of my way_ I'll take great pleasure in finding out."

"You couldn't kill me if you tried, and not just because I'm dead." He purred.

Her whiskers twitched. "Really? I heard a cat not much bigger than a kit killed you with one blow."

Tigerstar seemed to lose control at that, and swiped at her head. She jumped back as a grey she-cat barrelled out of the undergrowth and bowled into his side.

Halfpaw jumped into the fray, but as soon as she sunk her claws into Tigerstar's pelt, his paw connected with her head and threw her back a few tail-lengths. She crashed to the ground, unable to smell anything but crushed ferns.

It wasn't long before the huge tabby had the other she-cat pinned to the ground. He raised a paw, claws unsheathed, as the grey warrior writhed around beneath him.

"Fox-hearted coward!" She hissed. "Go on, finish me."

A silvery blue she-cat and a tortoiseshell dashed in with Jayfeather. They were quickly followed by a tawny tom, a ginger warrior with a bushy tail, and a brown tabby tom.

Jayfeather crouched down, ready to spring. "Tigerstar, let her go _now_!"

He stepped away from the warrior, who sprung to her paws and glared at him.

"Are you alright?" The tortoiseshell asked, pressing her nose to Halfpaw's flank.

The apprentice nodded, getting to her paws shakily. "Does this happen very often?" She asked, nodding to Tigerstar.

"Most apprentices agree." Jayfeather growled. "Most think he's been reformed or was tragically misunderstood. Others are just evil by themselves."

"If you say so." Tigerstar said mildly.

The StarClan cats parted, letting Tigerstar pad away into the dark edge of the forest. The shadows swallowed him, and the last Halfpaw saw of him was his tail-tip flicking, just once.

"If it's possible to hurt the spirits of cats, why don't you kill him?" Halfpaw asked.

Jayfeather lashed his tail, disturbing leaves. "StarClan doesn't kill." He said shortly, sounding annoyed.

"Surely you can make an exception for a snake-hearted, crowfood-eating, dog-breathed, beetle-brained—I'm running out of insults here—"

"Mangy-furred." The ragged grey she-cat suggested darkly.

That earned her a sharp warning glance from the blue-grey she-cat, but Halfpaw wasn't finished, so further rebuke had to wait.

"Mangy-furred, long-toothed, cowardly…"

"Tell us how you really feel, why don't you?" Jayfeather muttered.

"Two-faced, stubby-tailed piece of _foxdung_."

The blue she-cat sighed. "Are you quite done?"

"I think that covers it, yeah."

"Well, we can't just decide who lives and who dies." The tortoiseshell said. "If we could, no good cat would ever die."

Halfpaw paused, remembering Nightkit.

"But then again, if we could choose who lived, so could the Dark Forest cats." The grey warrior added.

The apprentice shuddered. "Point taken."

"Bluestar, we should get her back to our territory." The huge brown tabby said, looking over his shoulder.

"Alright. Redtail, Oakheart, you take the back. Spottedleaf, we'll go first. Jayfeather and Yellowfang, you can explain everything to Halfpaw."

"Bluestar? Spottedleaf?" Halfpaw whispered to Jayfeather. "I know those names, Mousefur wouldn't shut up about them. They're ThunderClan, so why are they helping me?"

"There are no borders in StarClan." Jayfeather said.

Yellowfang snorted. "There are now. Clanmates are siding with Clanmates left and right, causing all sorts of trouble." She explained.

"Why, though? What's going on? What's making StarClan split?"

Jayfeather and Yellowfang exchanged an all-too-familiar glance over Halfpaw's head. She'd seen that look before, between Jayfeather and his brother, Lionblaze.

After a moment, Yellowfang answered: "We can't tell you."

"Well, that's about as useful an answer as a dead fox." Halfpaw muttered. "Come on, I'm a medicine cat now! I need to know what StarClan is doing, that's kind of my job."

"You're an apprentice, and barely one at that. Leave that sort of thing to me."

"I'm a full warrior!"

"But you've barely been made an apprentice, and StarClan has yet to welcome you. Speaking of which…" Jayfeather trailed off and glanced at Yellowfang and Spottedleaf.

A small tom padded over with a young ginger tom beside him.

"Flametail! Littlecloud!"

"Hello, Halffur." Flametail said, glancing at Jayfeather as if challenging him to correct the name.

"I'm Pawpaw now." Halfpaw joked. "JJ's creation, of course."

Jayfeather looked around awkwardly. "Sorry I couldn't save you." He mumbled in Flametail's general direction.

"Let's get on with the ceremony." Yellowfang interrupted.

**That's all for now, folks. Sorry it took so long.**

**I'm getting a kitten next month! His name is Fisk! YAY!**


	5. Chapter 5: A Gathering of Information

**WindClan Territory**

_**The day after the half-moon, when Kestrelflight is first able to talk to Onestar alone.**_

"What is it, Kestrelflight? Why have you asked to meet me out here?" Onestar asked patiently.

Kestrelflight scraped the ground, ashamed of himself for going against the peaceful ways of a medicine cat, but the fierce WindClan she-cat had been insistent that it was necessary. "I've received a sign from StarClan." He admitted.

"And?"

"We need to lead an attack on ThunderClan."

"Why?"

"ThunderClan has been the least aggressive for as long as any living cat can remember. They were always promoting teamwork and peace. But then they killed ShadowClan's deputy for a sliver of useless land. Times are changing, and if they want to kill for that land, what will stop them from killing for the much more prey-rich piece of land on our border?"

Onestar hesitated, and Kestrelflight could tell he wasn't convinced this was reason enough for an attack.

He pressed on urgently. "We have to impress upon them that we are not to be messed with, or we'll follow ShadowClan's fate. They had to go crawling to ThunderClan for help with their medicine cats. Do you want ThunderClan training three of the four medicine cats? Isn't it bad enough that Firestar's deputy is RiverClan's medicine cat's half-brother? They've got their claws in all the Clans, even us, and we have to show them that they can't drag us into their camp like some piece of prey."

"Alright. What do you suggest? ShadowClan are nothing if not fierce, and ThunderClan beat them."

Relaying what Darkwind had told him, Kestrelflight laid out the whole plan for his leader.

**The Gathering Island**

_**It's the first Gathering Halfpaw has been to since joining ThunderClan.**_

"And I'm off." Halfpaw muttered. "See you, JJ."

Jayfeather sighed and rolled his eyes, but privately he was amused. She had no control over what she said now that she'd relaxed into being a part of ThunderClan, and she constantly said stuff that would leave any other cat tripping over their own tail to correct. All in one day out collecting herbs, she'd said "Look at this!" and "Watch out!" and "See?"

He hadn't totally missed the fact that her name was _Half_fur. Now that she wasn't an outsider in ThunderClan anymore, she'd started sharing tongues with him at the end of the day and brought him prey, and with every passing day she reminded him more and more of the ancient she-cat.

"Be careful." Leafpool murmured in his ear suddenly.

The blind tom bristled. "Of what, liars? Cowards?"

"No." She said simply. "Just of falling in love."

X-x-X-x-X

Halfpaw wove through the crowds until she found the ShadowClan warriors. Darkwood was talking to their mother in a low voice, but his eyes were sparking with excitement.

"Ivytail! Aren't the kits due soon?" She asked, bounding over to touch noses with her.

"I might as well get out of the camp while I can. It's great to see you. Are the ThunderClan warriors treating you alright?"

"They wouldn't dare mistreat me."

Darkwood lead her over to a clump of bushes. "You won't believe what I've heard. Breezepelt wanted to know ThunderClan's tactics in that last fight, so I told him, and he said that WindClan's going to take care of ThunderClan's little fox-hearted quest for territory."

"Really?" She asked, feeling terror wash over her. "What's their plan?"

"He wouldn't tell me much, but I just spoke to him again and found out they've been practicing fighting in undergrowth and even defending attacks from trees. And guess who Breezepelt is going to take care of personally!"

"Who?" She asked, praying to StarClan it wasn't—

"Jayfeather! That little piece of fox dung won't be your mentor much longer, and you can change your name back to Halffur."

"Why Jayfeather? I mean, he's the most annoying cat ever—even for a ThunderClan cat—but what's his problem?"

"Oh, don't you remember? Jayfeather is Breezepelt's half-brother."

Halfpaw forced her fur to lie flat and started cleaning her fur. "Is he going to take care of Leafpool and Lionblaze too?" She asked as casually as possible.

"Yeah!"

"Shh!" Ivytail said, gesturing to the leaders.

They fell silent, both with fur prickling; one was uneasy, the other excited. And as Halfpaw's eyes rested on a familiar set of black ears, she hoped her brother thought she was excited too.

X-x-X-x-X

"Jayfeather!" Halfpaw hissed.

He sniffed the air and realised she was hiding in a clump of ferns and mushrooms. "What are you doing?"

"I need to talk to you."

"It can wait till morning." He yawned, turning away. "Ow!"

She'd grabbed his tail with her teeth, and yanked him backwards into the undergrowth. "No, it can't.  
>She growled. "WindClan is going to attack us on the new moon."<p>

"Us in particular, or our clans?"

"What? Oh! I mean ThunderClan, just ThunderClan. But Breezepelt wants you and Lionblaze dead in particular."

"What? How'd you get all this information?"

"Breezepelt told Darkwood, and Darkwood was pleased—he's still angry about the Halfpaw thing—and was reassuring me that I wouldn't have to deal with you for long. Apparently they've been practicing defending attacks from above and fighting in undergrowth. Since ShadowClan were muttering about your tactics at the Gathering after the battle."

"I'll warn Lionblaze. We need to find some marigold and horsetail and goldenrod, maybe some oak leaves. And cobwebs."

"And Leafpool?" She prompted.

"What about her?"

"Darkwood said nothing about her, but I'm sure she'll be next. That is, if Nightcloud doesn't get her claws in her first."

"I'm sure Firestar will let her know too."

"But not you?"

Jayfeather turned away, suddenly very interested in sniffing the ferns. He could feel her concerned gaze prick his pelt.

"My mother has her faults, and it's not easy having Blackstar for a father. But don't you get tired of always being on edge around your own family? I was talking to Leafpool and Squirrelflight—"

"When? I don't remember you hanging around them…"

"You've been too wrapped up in the secrets you share with Lionblaze and Dovewing to notice."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Halfpaw flicked her tail over his ear. "Liar." She meowed, brushing her pelt against his to show him she wasn't accusing him of anything. "You think I haven't noticed? I notice everything you do."

"Oh." He said, not sure exactly how to respond to that.

"Relax, you don't have to tell me. If it were important, you would."

"No, I—I want to tell you. It's just… Cinderheart and Lionblaze used to be really close."

"Until he told her?"

"Right. She doesn't want to distract him, and he does."

"Don't worry, you won't get rid of me that easily. I'll be here for you—forever."

Jayfeather sat down and started explaining from the beginning, when he snuck out of the nursery with his littermates to chase a fox.

X-x-X-x-X

"If you were any other cat, I'd ask you if you'd been eating mysterious herbs." She commented when he finished.

"I appreciate your restraint." He said sarcastically, but was privately glad that she hadn't freaked out like Cinderheart.

"So… How can I help?"

"What?"

"How can I help you make sure the prophecy comes to pass? Don't you need to find the fourth? Who do you think that is? Maybe Ivyheart? Would Lionblaze want me to know? Should I talk to Cinderheart?"

"Slow down there! I don't know if you _can_ help. I have absolutely no idea how to find the fourth, and I certainly don't expect you to."

"What if it was Hollyleaf? Or is? You said you didn't find her body."

"I don't even know where to start looking for her."

"I think _I _do."


	6. Chapter 6: Hollyleaf

"What makes you think she's in the moors?"

"Well, a few moons back, a kit snuck out of camp. When we found him, he claimed to have seen a black cat hunting in the moors. We thought he was making up stories, but it just might be her."

"Why would she live in moorland, though? She's not a WindClan cat, she loved the forest."

"Oh, but she is WindClan." She reminded him.

"Not enough to like the moors! Besides, she killed Ashfur. Why would she stay in the area?"

"She loves ThunderClan too much to leave. And there's been all kinds of signs."

"What do you mean?"

"According to the queens, warriors have been finding fresh kill at the edge of the hollow. Call me crazy, but that's not normal. Someone had to catch it, and no one stepped forward. When that rabbit showed up a few sunrises ago, I checked it out. I didn't recognise the cat scents on it at all, but it smelled like gorse and ThunderClan to me."

"But what if it's not Hollyleaf? We're going to get our fur ripped off by some rogue."

Halfpaw sighed and stopped. She nudged his side gently and ran her tail-tip down his spine. "That's not the problem. I know what you're really wondering—what if it is Hollyleaf?"

"What if she doesn't want to come back?"

"Does it matter? She's your sister, she loves you, and she might be alive. I would kill to be able to meet my sister."

"You had a sister?"

"She was stillborn."

"I'm sorry."

She could see how awkward and anxious he felt and started licking his hackles flat. "I didn't even know her. Jayfeather, you can do this. I'm right here by your side, whether it's her or a rogue."

"Thank you." He said finally, leaning into the warmth of her pelt. "Why didn't you give up on me? I wasn't exactly nice to you. Most cats, they just leave me alone when I snap at them once or twice."

"I will never give up on you. I love you."

"You can't. We're medicine cats."

"Jayfeather, two of the chosen Three are the kits of a medicine cat and a cat from another Clan. If that was so wrong, why is it that you have all this power? Who came up with this, anyway? I mean, I'm practically a member of ThunderClan these days, and there won't be other Clans much longer if the Three are all from your Clan."

"But… The warrior code…" Jayfeather began hesitantly.

But Halfpaw didn't want to hear it. She lashed her tail and slapped its tip to his muzzle to quiet him. "The warrior code is outdated, from a different time. It's time for things to change, and they've already been set in motion. A kittypet is a leader, two of the most powerful cats _ever_ are the HalfClan kits of a medicine cat, and dead cats are able to help living cats rip the pelts off of living cats in the waking world. Your power trumps the warrior code _and _StarClan."

"You make a convincing argument."

"Of course I do, you silly furball. Now, let's find your sister."

He didn't step away as they walked towards the moors. She didn't either.

.oOo.

"Wow! Look at this!" The black and white she-cat said excitedly. "There's an entrance to the tunnel!"

"Don't go down it!" Jayfeather said hurriedly, turning away from some old bones. He actually sounded concerned.

"Do you think this is how Hollyleaf escaped the tunnels?"

"I don't want to find… anything…"

"If her body was in here, it would smell like crowfood. It just smells like earth here. She must've made it out!"

Hollyleaf recognised her vaguely from Gatherings. A ShadowClan apprentice, if she remembered right. She had no idea why she was here with Jayfeather or how she knew him.

"Look! That's been freshly dug. It smells like a cat… But it's not the one who brought the prey."

Once again, the she-cat had told Jayfeather to look without tripping over herself to correct the word, and Jayfeather hadn't snapped at her yet. And she knew about Hollyleaf and that she was here and bringing prey to ThunderClan.

"She's not here." Jayfeather said. His tail dragged on the ground and Hollyleaf felt guilty immediately. "We should go back."

"No."

Hollyleaf wasn't sure who was more surprised that she'd spoken: the two cats below or herself. She'd said no at the same time as the ShadowClan she-cat, but much more firmly.

"H—Hollyleaf?"

She made her way down the slope, shaking from her paws to her ears. "That's where Jack buried his most recent prey. Might I ask why you're here? Together?"

"She's my—my apprentice. Well, both of ShadowClan's medicine cats died and they made me train her. She's staying in ThunderClan until she completes her training."

"Why are you here?"

"Because you're alive." Jayfeather said, tripping over the words.

"And?"

The ShadowClan she-cat laid her tail on his shoulder and stopped him. "He misses you. He and Lionblaze figured out you were alive and I guessed where you were. Hollyleaf, I know you hate the whole Leafpool thing, but everyone except for Breezepelt and your family is completely over it, and your littermates just want you back." She said, sounding oh-so-naïve and friendly.

"I have no family."

Jayfeather almost flinched. She could tell.

She waited for it to sink in, and then started to leave. Coming down had been a mistake, she told herself.

There was a sound, paws pushing off the ground, and then a blurred black and white shape barrelled into her, claws sheathed. She was out of practice, hadn't fought any cat since she met Jack—the other loners were afraid of him. The former ThunderClan warrior was pinned to the ground.

"You selfish fox-hearted coward." She hissed. "Jayfeather has been grieving your death for moons, and now he finally has you back and all you can say is 'I have no family'. I don't think so."

"Halfpaw, leave it."

"Fine. Hide out here for the rest of your sorry life. But don't pretend you don't care. I've seen the prey you've been leaving about. You've hovered about up here for moons. You do care, and I want you to remember that."

Hollyleaf sighed and sat up to dust herself off. "I'm sorry, Jayfeather. Do you… Do you really want me back?"

"Ye—yes."

"Alright. I'll come back."

"Wait," Jayfeather said.

Hollyleaf had been waiting for that. "Yes?"

"Ashfur."

"I didn't mean to. He was there, I confronted him, and then he… he slipped. And I couldn't do anything, so I ran."

"Then it's settled!" Halfpaw said, tail waving. "Sorry about attacking you, it's something I learned in ShadowClan. If cats won't listen to sense, you make them." She shared a knowing look with Jayfeather at that, and his whiskers twitched.

Without much thought, Hollyleaf launched herself forward and pressed her nose to his fur, murmuring apologies.

"How touchingly sentimental." A voice drawled.

All three of them leapt around, Hollyleaf instinctively falling in front of Jayfeather and surprised to find Halfpaw instead pressing herself against him, murmuring instructions.

"_Breezepelt_."


	7. Chapter 7: Breezepelt

"_Breezepelt_." Hollyleaf said.

The black tom's tail lashed and he stalked forward. "Long time no see, Hollyleaf."

"Go back to your territory." Halfpaw intervened smoothly. "This doesn't concern you."

"You're right, of course, it doesn't concern anyone but Thunderclan." Breezepelt retorted.

Halfpaw's eyes narrowed in suspicion, her pelt pricking against Jayfeather's.

He continued, "So why are you so concerned? Your brother thinks you're still loyal to Shadowclan, but I'm not convinced. You seem awfully close to Jayfeather… Another way for the blind medicine cat to break the rules, are you?"

She assumed an innocent air. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean, Breezepelt." Halfpaw's blue eyes widened as she tilted her head to one side.

"And Jayfeather! Keeping your sister secret from your clan, taking a mate—you can't rewrite the warrior code, half-clan."

"You're one to talk. Interesting that you're lurking right outside Thunderclan—Mrrow!" Halfpaw broke off and yowled as he leapt for Jayfeather, knocking both of them away.

Her claws lashed out and raked along his side, only to be hit in her side. Winded, she gasped. "Jayfeather, one tail length to your left!"

Caught off guard, the medicine cat reared back clumsily and swatted at the Windclan cat. Breezepelt flipped around expertly and pinned Jayfeather down.

Hollyleaf sprang out and bowled him over. It was by no means a fair fight. She was out of practice, and he was recently trained by some of the best warriors who'd ever lived and died.

Two warriors out of practice and a blind medicine cat against a brilliant warrior.

"I know that move." Halfpaw muttered as they circled. "My brother made it up. I've never seen anyone else use it."'

"The brilliant medicine cat catches on! Your brother complains, you know. How everyone's _so_ impressed that you remember your warrior training just as well as herbs. The clan favourite, always out shadowing Darkwood—no wonder he joined the Dark Forest."

Hollyleaf shot her brother a look: _Dark Forest?_

"He'd never!" Halfpaw gasped.

"He would, and he has. How does it feel to be betrayed by your own family? To find out they have _secrets_." Breezepelt spat.

The apprentice could tell Breezepelt was close to pouncing. "Starclan, help us!" She murmured, looking up at the sky.

"Starclan won't help you. Their time is over—it's time for the Dark Forest to rise."

"Starclan will last longer than the stars themselves. As long as their memories linger, they will last. And as long as there is breath left in the bodies of _true_ warriors, their memories will last. Being a warrior isn't about killing. It's about clans, it's about doing the right thing, and it's about spirit—something a mangy snake-heart like you will never understand."

Breezepelt's tail flicked, but before he could spring, Jayfeather moved. He'd sensed the other tom's muscles clenching as he crouched and known he was about to rip Halfpaw's throat open.

Hollyleaf gasped, but quickly recovered her senses and joined in. Halfpaw pressed herself against Jayfeather's flank and concentrated on the fight, hoping Jayfeather would see it in her mind and be able to compensate his lack of sight with his power.

But the Windclan cat was faster and stronger than any of them. He fastened his claws and teeth in Jayfeather's pelt and barrelled him over, pinning him to the ground.

"NO!" The two she-cats yowled, but neither moved; there was a standstill as they weighed their options.

"Take another step, and he dies." Breezepelt hissed.

Halfpaw's eyes widened in horror, but Hollyleaf glared. "And then we kill you while your claws are stuck in his fur."

Jayfeather was shaking from a mixture of rage and humiliation. Here he was, being fought over like a scrap of prey in leafbare.

"Scared, brother dearest?" Breezepelt sneered. "Blind _and_ a coward."

"Let him go." Halfpaw snarled.

"Or else what?" Breezepelt asked.

The streak of Shadowclan cunning in the she-cat took over, and she retorted, "You really know nothing about Tigerstar. You beetle-brain, he's using you to exact his revenge on the clans. He just wants to inflict pain on Firestar. I mean, really, if you're so important, he would've told you about the prophecy."

Hollyleaf shot Halfpaw a _shut up_ glance, which Breezepelt caught. For the first time, he seemed to doubt himself. Slowly, he backed away with teeth bared.

"Don't think I won't tell your brother where your loyalties really lie." He snapped over his shoulder before bounding off.

Halfpaw slumped to the ground, eyes dull.

Jayfeather sat up slowly and began cleaning his pelt while steadily avoiding his sister's gaze.

"She knows?" Hollyleaf said sharply. "Never mind that! Jayfeather, get up. Come on, we have to go back to the camp and tell Firestar I'm, um, alive…"

"Leave me alone!"

Hollyleaf glanced at Halfpaw desperately, and his apprentice got up and padded over to him. She drew her tongue over his ear and murmured, "You're not a coward, JJ."

"Will someone please tell me what's going on here?" Hollyleaf snapped.

"I could ask the same thing," Lionblaze growled from behind them.

They all turned to see an awkward looking Ivyheart, a furious Lionblaze, and Dovewing trying her best to hide her interest with an abashed look. A few steps behind them Cinderheart was struck dumb, just staring at Hollyleaf.

"I, um, heard a commotion…" Dovewing offered lamely.

Hollyleaf stepped forward, her gaze gentle as it flicked between her brother and her best friend. "I'm so sorry." She managed.

Then she was practically bowled over as they dashed up and started nudging her and demanding to know what was going on and in general telling her how much they missed her. Dovewing and Ivyheart whispered furiously.

Halfpaw pressed her nose to Jayfeather's shoulder. "I was so scared for you."

"I was useless."

"No!" Her blue eyes flared. "Never say that again."

"You should've let him kill me," He choked.

"Why in Starclan would you say something like that?"

"Because he's right. I'm Half-Clan and blind and a coward, and I'm breaking the warrior code just sitting here with you, because I'm in love with you. I'm doing what Leafpool did."

"The time for following the warrior code is over." She said firmly. "Forget the code."

"Why?"

"Because I love you too, and that is stronger than any code—you are stronger than any code. _We_ are stronger than any code."

"We can never tell anyone."

Her eyes gleamed. "Wrong again. Attention, everyone! Lovebirds, stop crowding Hollyleaf; you two, you can stop the little whisper conference back there. Listen up, because while I will say this over and over until I use my dying breath to speak it, but I will only say it for the first time once. I love Jayfeather! I will run from here to the mountains and shout it from over the waterfalls there. I will tell it to Starclan and announce it at the Gathering, because I love him. I love him, I love him, I love him."

Silence greeted her words.

"Halfmo—Halfpaw…" Jayfeather said, choking over the name.

"I will never let you go. Not again." She promised. "No amount of seasons, no distance, no war, not even death can separate us."

Cinderheart glanced sideways at Lionblaze, who had been stealing looks her way for the whole scene.

Hollyleaf managed, "The—the warrior code!"

Ivyheart seemed to privately agree with Hollyleaf, but she didn't make a sound.

"The warrior code really stopped applying to us a while ago," Dovewing pointed out.

Halfpaw beamed. "Thank you, Dovewing. Now, come on; we have a hollow full of Thunderclan cats to shock speechless—and it'll probably be an improvement in a few of them."

"Thornclaw and Berrynose?" Jayfeather asked lightly.

"You know that's right."

**The next chapter will be interesting, to say the very least. I'm not sure whether I want it to be light and fluffy HalfxJay or serious plotting stuff, but we'll see.**


	8. Chapter 8: Plans

**Your reviews are amazing, guys. Well, mostly just Queen of Sneaks. You're awesome. XD**

"So it's unavoidable?" Firestar asked eventually. "Windclan will attack us?"

"Onestar might not even know about it," Jayfeather confirmed.

The ginger tom glanced at Dovewing. "You haven't heard anything, have you?"

"I haven't heard Onestar talking about it..." The she-cat hedged.

"But you have heard someone?" He pressed.

She nodded. "His deputy was talking to Breezepelt and Heathertail about how to best go about training their warriors."

His eyes narrowed, and they flickered between the Three. "There's something else you haven't told me yet." He guessed shrewdly.

"Um, yes. Halfpaw, Ivyheart, and Cinderheart are outside with Brambleclaw and… And Hollyleaf."

"You found her body?" Firestar's voice sort of croaked with the emotion he was feeling, and Sandstorm flicked her tail across his spine reassuringly.

"Not exactly…" Lionblaze said slowly. "Firestar, she's—"

"She's alive!" Dovewing blurted out.

"Impossible." He breathed.

Jayfeather shook his head. "Halfpaw helped me find her. She put the pieces together—the prey we keep finding, a rumour of a black cat on the moors, the lack of a body…"

"How long have you known?" Sandstorm demanded.

"We only found her today…" Lionblaze answered. "Before we only had vague hopes."

"Have you told Leafpool and Squirrelflight?" Firestar asked after a long time.

Graystripe spoke for the first time: "Are you sure that's wise?"

Sandstorm's eyes got a funny look. "Make Brambleclaw tell Squirrelflight; Jayfeather, you can go find Leafpool." She ordered.

"But—"

Even the blind tom could see this was no time to argue, as her gaze scorched his pelt.

"Right." He muttered, padding off.

"Lionblaze, get the senior warriors, we'll tell them about the war and Hollyleaf. And I'll send Brambleclaw when he gets here. Dovewing, don't you have training?"

They all scampered off, leaving the three old friends in the leader's den.

"She's alive!" Sandstorm said weakly, pressing her nose to her mate's pelt. "Our granddaughter is alive."

"This plan of yours for Brambleclaw to tell Squirrelflight and Jayfeather to tell Leafpool…" Graystripe said slowly.

She shifted slightly. "It'll either work perfectly…or we'll have a few fights to break up."

"It's pretty risky," Firestar observed.

"Never mind all that!" Sandstorm's voice was brisk. "We have a fight to prepare for," She said.

X-x-X-x-X

"Leafpool." Jayfeather said, and kept walking in the hopes she'd follow without questioning him.

Something in his tone made her do so.

"This is far enough from the camp for no one to hear us." She said after a while. "What is it?"

He had no intent to spare her a shock, so he said it rather bluntly. "Hollyleaf is alive and she's back and Sandstorm ordered me to tell you."

Even as he made to stalk away, she swayed on the spot and then collapsed to the ground. "My daughter is… my darling kit… Hollyleaf's alive?" She choked.

"She's not your _anything_. Not your daughter, not you kit, nothing. We don't have a mother."

"You're wrong." She said with a shaking voice, climbing to her paws. "You may not like it, or want it; you may hate me, and you're probably right in doing so. But don't ever forget this: I will always love you, and I will always be here as a mother to you—and so will Squirrelflight. You can tell me I have no son, but don't let anyone tell you that you haven't got a mother, because you have two."

"Ferncloud was more a mother to us than you two ever were."

"You act so righteous, like you're the victim here. Yes, I broke the warrior code. Giving you up was the hardest thing I ever did. But Thunderclan needed a medicine cat, and if that meant lying until you were ready to be one, then so be it. But don't act like you never break the code. You walk in other cats' dreams, and I've seen you around Halfpaw. Your own apprentice, another medicine cat from ShadowClan, and you're in love with her."

"You know nothing about me!"

"I may just be the mother that betrayed you in your mind, but I haven't forgotten that I was also your mentor."

He stared at her. Then, "We're about to fight WindClan, you know."

"What?"

"Crowfeather will be fighting alongside his son and his mate. You're a warrior now; you'll be out there with him."

"My loyalties are with my clan. What happens when ShadowClan attacks us? What will you do then?"

"She's a medicine cat…"

"So are you, but I can tell from your shoulder you've been fighting."

"She fought alongside me against one of her brother's friends."

"Who?"

"Breezepelt. He wants me dead and… and you."

"I can take care of myself," She told him coolly. "I want you to keep Halfpaw by you, though."

"You can't even catch decent prey! You're wasted as a warrior, wasted."

"What do you suggest, then?"

"I suggest that you stay behind with me and Halfpaw and protect the camp. Breezepelt is ruthless; he won't stop and let kits live, he'll slaughter us all. I fear he may even target the camp to weaken us."

"But why?"

"The Dark Forest is rising, and Breezepelt is one of them." He said.

She steeled herself. "Then we have no time to waste. We need to gather herbs and cobwebs."


End file.
